What’s New In COBIT 2019?
The launch of COBIT 2019 has created ripples in IT service management. Every organization irrespective of their turnover and size is talking about this upgraded version of COBIT 5. There is a mixed reaction to this upgradation from ISACA. Some believe that this new version was much needed in the present time to cope up with the continuous changes as well as challenges in the information and technology domain. But there are others who are still pondering over the use and benefits of COBIT 2019. If you are one of those professionals who has COBIT 5 certification and is apprehensive of its importance now, I hope this blog will help you to get out of the dilemma. Before I start talking about What’s new in COBIT 2019, I want to make this blog interesting also for those who have heard about COBIT but are not much aware of its potential. Let’s go through a brief background of COBIT.
What is COBIT?
ISACA’s Control Objectives for Information and Related Technology is popularly known as COBIT. This framework was created for IT governance and management and acts as a bridge to cover the gap between technical issues, business risks, and control requirements. It is a globally recognized guideline and ensures quality, control, and reliability of information systems in an organization. Thus, COBIT is a supportive tool which equips the managers with better risk management practices related to the IT processes. It included:
Framework: It brings in the best practices in IT processes and domains to link business requirements and thus helps in organizing the objectives of IT governance
Process Description: Planning, building, running, and monitoring of all IT processes are together known as a process description. It is a reference model for all employees to follow a common framework.
Control Objectives: There are some requirements for effective IT business control. It offers a complete list of those requirements.
Maturity Models: Maturity and capability of every process can be accessed and the gaps can be addressed simultaneously.
Management Guidelines: Assignment of responsibilities, performance measurement, agreement on common adjectives, etc can be managed in a better way.
The last upgradation of this IT governance and management framework was launched as COBIT 5 in 2012. In the last 6 years, the IT processes have changed a lot. Technology, as well as industry trends, have changed and to cope up with this change it was important to update COBIT 5. Thus, ISACA launched COBIT 2019. And don’t worry, ISACA will keep supporting COBIT 5 certification. But as this latest version has changes and reference models to catch up with the changing technology, the organizations and professionals won’t be able to resist it for too long.
There is no doubt over the fact that COBIT 2019 is one of the best governance and management frameworks lunched for the governance and management of enterprise IT. There are four key publications in this release but only two has been released so far. The remaining two will follow soon. The best part is that the available two books can be downloaded for free from ISACA’s website and they are known as:
the COBIT 2019 Framework: Introduction and Methodology: It has the structure of the overall framework and,
COBIT 2019 Framework: Governance and Management Objectives: It has details of the COBIT Core Model and its 40 governance and management objectives.
The next two books expected to be launched soon are:
COBIT 2019 Design Guide: It has the details on how to put COBIT to practical use and,
COBIT 2019 Implementation Guide: COBIT 5 Implementation Guide has been updated.
The major difference between COBIT 2019 and its previous version is COBIT 2019 has 40 modified processes as compared to 37 in COBIT 5. Two of COBIT 5’s processes have been split into two due difference in their size and content.
- Manage Programs and Project is split into Managed Programs, and Managed Projects.
- Monitor, Evaluate and Assess the System of Internal Control is now Managed System of Internal Control and Managed Assurance.
Although the same five governance and management objectives of COBIT 5 are there in the updated version, yet, this newer version has:
- modified principles,
- new focus areas,
- new design factors,
- updated goals cascade
- new detailed governance and management objectives
- COBIT 5 enablers (processes, organisational structures, policies and procedures, information flows, culture and behaviors, skills, and infrastructure ) are now termed as “governance components”
COBIT 2019 as a more comprehensiveI & Tgovernance and management framework, is focused at the technology and information processing of the whole enterprise.
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